Viet Cong

The Viet Cong, also known as the National Liberation Army, NLA, Victor Charlie, the Vietcong, VC, or Charlie, was a group of communist insurgents trained by North Vietnam to wage war against South Vietnam during the Vietnam War from 1959 to 1975.

History
The Viet Cong were founded as the "National Liberation Army" (NLA) in September 1959 by North Vietnam as communist rebels in South Vietnam that rose up against the government of Ngo Dinh Diem, the abusive President of South Vietnam and a strong United States ally. The Viet Cong were trained by North Vietnamese Army (NVA) cadres, and they were armed with Soviet Union and China-made weapons. They waged guerrilla warfare against the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) and the US Marine Corps (the latter after 1965) in the "Vietnam War", and they became known as "VC" or "Victor Charlie" in military jargon. They hid in the jungle at day and attacked at night, ambushing American troops when they engaged them in search-and-destroy operations and attacking their airbases and barracks. Their first attacks were at Pleiku and Qui Nonh in 1964, and by 1968 the war was being fought by around 500,000 US troops. The Viet Cong joined the NVA in the Tet Offensive of late 1968 until early 1969, which was a defeat for them. However, public opinion in America was low, and the communists took advantage of public opinion in America to force American troops into leaving Vietnam. Despite not always winning against the Americans, they gained strength as Vietnamization occurred, with US troops being withdrawn and the ARVN given responsibility for fighting them. The 1972 Easter Offensive failed, but the Americans left the next year, allowing for the communists to take over Saigon in 1975 and end the war. The Viet Cong became members of the united Vietnam, now a communist state.